Click here to see a photo gallery of Earl Scruggs through the years. Here, he waits in his dressing room at the Ford Theatre at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum before going on stage (Photo: John Partipilo/The Tennessean).

Country Music Hall of Famer Earl Scruggs, a singular talent of collective impact, died Wednesday morning at a Nashville hospital. He was 88 and died of natural causes.

A quietly affable presence, Mr. Scruggs popularized a complex, three-fingered style of playing banjo that transformed the instrument, inspired nearly every banjo player who followed him and became a central element in what is now known as bluegrass music.

But Mr. Scruggs’ legacy is in no way limited to or defined by bluegrass, a genre that he and partner Lester Flatt dominated as Flatt & Scruggs in the 1950s and ’60s: His adaptability and open-minded approach to musicality and to collaboration made him a bridge between genres and generations.

Rather than speak out about the connections between folk and country in the war-torn, politically contentious ’60s, he simply showed up at folk festivals and played, at least when he and Flatt weren’t at the Grand Ole Opry. During the long-hair/short-hair skirmishes of the ’60s and ’70s, he simply showed up and played, with Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and The Byrds. And when staunch fans of bluegrass — a genre that would not exist in a recognizable form without Mr. Scruggs’ banjo — railed against stylistic experimentation, Mr. Scruggs happily jammed away with sax player King Curtis, sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, piano man Elton John and anyone else whose music he fancied.

“He was the man who melted walls, and he did it without saying three words,” said his friend and acolyte Marty Stuart in 2000.

Swift, who received harsh criticism after her pitchy performance with Stevie Nicks on the 2010 Grammy Awards, was one of Nashville’s top winners at the 54th Grammy Awards, propelled by her No. 1 country hit “Mean.” With lyrics including “Someday I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me, and all you’re ever gonna be is mean,” the song was inspired by the critical backlash following the ill-fated duet.

“It’s always going to mean the world to me, the idea of getting to go the Grammys,” Swift said as she accepted her first trophy for “Mean” during the awards show’s pre-telecast. “But, this one means a lot to me. There’s really no feeling like writing a song about somebody who is really mean to you and someone who really hates you, and then winning a Grammy for it.”

She performed a bluegrass-infused version of the song during the telecast, subbed in the words, “Someday I’ll be singing this at the Grammys” and earned a standing ovation.

Swift won two golden gramophones over the course of the show: Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for “Mean.”

Presenters and performers continue to trickle in for this year's Grammy Awards, which take place on Feb. 12 in Los Angeles. Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley are among the first round of presenters for this year's awards, along with Drake and Gwyneth Paltrow.

The Grammys have also added Katy Perry to performers lineup - she joins a list that features Adele; Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson; Glen Campbell with The Band Perry and Blake Shelton; Coldplay and Rihanna; Foo Fighters; Bruno Mars; Paul McCartney; Nicki Minaj; and Taylor Swift.

McCartney will also perform and be saluted at the MusiCares® Person of the Year Tribute on Feb. 10. Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas are among the star-studded roster of performers paying tribute to McCartney at the event. Other performers include Tony Bennett, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Duane Eddy, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys and James Taylor; Diana Krall and Neil Young with Crazy Horse; Sergio Mendes; and Katy Perry.

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards air live from Los Angeles at 7 p.m. Sun., Feb. 12 on CBS.

By all rights, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" should have been no more than a cult classic when it was released a decade ago. The movie, made by indie film world heroes Joel and Ethan Coen, placed star George Clooney in the middle of a wacky Depression-era tale equal parts grand ambition and grand larceny, with a soundtrack full of old-time American music, the likes of which had received scant attention on commercial radio in half a century or more.

Far from quickly finding its way to the midnight movie circuit, "O Brother" turned into a surprise hit — as did the soundtrack album.

Not only did the T Bone Burnett-produced CD sell millions of copies, but it won five Grammy Awards, including the overall album of the year award, trumping nominated works from such high-profile contenders as U2, Bob Dylan and OutKast.

"It couldn't have come at a better time for American roots music," said Robert Santelli, executive director of the Grammy Museum and author of the companion book to PBS' "American Roots Music" series that surfaced in the midst of the "O Brother" phenomenon. "Even more so than the album, the film gave roots music, Americana music, whatever you want to call it, a face, and it gave it a story, a narrative, that you can attach these great songs to and bring them into the 21st century. And that's what it did."